Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Performance , Truck , Lexus , Toyota , Luxury Toyota’s confirmation comes on the heels of General Motors’ successful launch of its own midsize pickups. The next generation of the Toyota Tacoma pickup truck will be revealed in January at the Detroit Auto Show , a top executive confirmed Thursday. Bob Carter, senior vice president of automotive operations for Toyota , offered no other details, but the new version of the pickup is expected to have significant upgrades compared with the aging model on sale now. Our spy shooters caught a prototype testing this summer, and rumors of the new generation have been swirling for months. We’ve also previously reported that Toyota is planning to ramp up production next April at a factory in Mexico that builds the Tacoma. Toyota’s confirmation comes on the heels of General Motors ‘ successful launch of its own midsize pickups, the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon , which have garnered awards, positive reviews and solid sales since they arrived in showrooms this fall. It’s unclear how large the new Tacoma will be, especially considering that the Canyon and Colorado flirt with fullsize territory. The Tacoma was last updated in 2012, and the segment has changed dramatically since then with the addition of the GM trucks. Another Tacoma competitor, Honda’s aging Ridgeline , is also expected to re-launch in 2015 , which would leave the Nissan Frontier as the oldest truck in the field. Tacoma sales have slipped 4.1 percent to 140,757 units this year, though they posted a 3.3-percent gain in November.

Filed under: Car Buying , Truck , Chevrolet , Nissan , Toyota According to a new study by Black Book , the fact that there are fewer mid-sized pickup truck options on the market is driving up the retail cost of used models. During the month of June, used vehicles from model years 2007-2011 depreciated an average of 1.3 percent across the board, but midsize pickups of the same year saw their value decrease by just 0.7 percent on average. Look across the past year, and the market as a whole saw those cars depreciate by 13.7 percent while midsize pickups saw their value decline by a mere 5.1 percent. Ricky Beggs, senior vice president and Managing Editor with Black Book, says midsize pickups are holding their value better than other products on the market due to the fact that there are so few brand-new options available. Currently, only Chevrolet , Nissan and Toyota offer midsize pickup trucks. Honda has a player in the game in the form of the Ridgeline , which is a sort of cross between a traditional pickup and a crossover, and the discontinued Ford Ranger falls into a smaller size class that no longer exists in the US. What’s all this mean to you? If you happen to have a set of keys to midsize pickup in your pocket, you’ve made a good investment. Don’t expect to see the machine depreciate as quickly as other vehicles on the road. Conversely, if you’re in the market, expect to pay a bit more than you might have expected for a non-fullsize pickup truck.

Filed under: Truck , Toyota , Quick Spins “Oh yeah, Toyota still makes the Tacoma .” Admit it, that’s what you just said to yourself. It’s a perfectly natural reaction, but the Tacoma has been quietly anchoring its segment for years, outselling every other compact pickup without making too much of a fuss. Toyota hasn’t neglected the Tacoma – it was updated in 2012 with a revised nose and interior as the most noteable changes. In a world awash with high-value fullsize pickups all vying for your attention, the Tacoma still charms more than a few buyers out of their cash. I hooked a Tacoma for a week to see whether it still has enough to recommend it. Driving Notes The size of the Tacoma is nice. While fullsize trucks can feel a bit like the automotive equivalent of relaxed-fit jeans, the Tacoma does the Goldilocks “just right” thing for my purposes. Yet the cozy cockpit of the Access Cab I drove can become uncomfortably tight if you’ve got adults using the jumpseats regularly. If you travel in a pack, get the Double Cab. That goes double if you’ve got kids still in child seats, it’s the better choice.

Filed under: Car Buying , Truck , Work , Ford , GM , Honda , Hummer , Nissan , Toyota , Ram PickupTrucks.com has taken another look at the sales of its favorite vehicle bodystyle as part of an ongoing series . According to registration data from R.L. Polk, the Toyota Tacoma easily took the crown as America’s best-selling mid-sized pickup, with 133,477 units rolling into new homes in 2012. For comparison, the second-place Nissan Frontier only saw 50,566 registrations. We feel compelled to point out that before Ford pulled the plug on its ancient Ranger , the company was moving some 75,000 units per year. That number had shriveled to 15,662 by 2012, which was still enough to surpass the Honda Ridgeline . Interestingly enough, one person brought home a brand-new Hummer H3T as well. But mid-sized trucks represent only a fraction of total pickup sales. Dealers sold a total of 241,471 midsizers last year compared to 988,326 half-tons. That segment was dominated by General Motors with 533,814 sales followed by Ford at 478,204.

Filed under: Truck , Videos , Ford , Nissan , Toyota , Off-Road , Ram The crew at PickupTrucks.com has busy lately. In addition to wrapping up their global pickup shootout in Australia, the site also took the time to pit four factory off-road kings against each other. After extending invitations to every manufacturer to send out their most capable pickup, the Nissan Frontier PRO-4X , Toyota Tacoma Baja , Ram Power Wagon and Ford F-150 SVT Raptor all showed up to play. General Motors , meanwhile, declined to join the party. Each of the participants threw down in a total of 10 scored events with separate scoring, including old standbys like 0-60, 60-0, payload capacity and fuel economy. But Pickuptrucks.com also partnered up with 4Wheeler Magazine to put the bruisers through some legitimate off-road tests. Each pickup took on a tough sand hill climb as well as a stair climb and a rock scramble. While we weren’t surprised to see the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor take top honors, we were shocked to see where the Power Wagon wound up on the list. How’d the big Mopar place? You’ll have to scroll down to watch the video wrap-up.

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing , Honda , Nissan , Toyota A new study by the Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Association has found 70 percent of Japanese vehicles sold in the U.S. were built on a North American assembly line. According to TheDetroitBureau.com, the study found that more than 400,000 jobs have been created by Japanese automakers since Honda opened its first facility in the U.S. in 1982. Honda , Toyota and Nissan had a total of 29 plants operating in the U.S. in 2010 with a combined investment of $34 billion. Those numbers are likely to increase in the coming years. The Japanese Three have made no secret that the companies are looking to guard their operations against an ever-stronger yen. Odds are we’ll see even more Japanese facilities open their doors in Mexico, the U.S. and Canada.